It is exactly ten years since I found this impressive mugo pine in the Swiss Alps. The tree took many years to recover and develop a strong root ball. During acclimatization O only worked on dead wood. Six years after collecting i twas planted in a suitable tray and was strong enough to be shaped.The good trunk base and the attractive trunk have already been designed by nature. This mugo pine is THE KING of my bonsai collection.I hope you’ll enjoy it. Greetings from Switzerland

About the jins : The bigger jin is part of the broken trunk, that’s why I leave the bark. The smaller one looks more natural like this. I don’t want create a Japanese bonsai – this is a tree from the Swiss Alps. I prefer a natuaral bonsai style.

normaly I carry the trees on my back – if they are not more than 50 kg (have a look at the pic). But this one was too heavy, so I hired a bodybuilder to bring it down to my car. It took more than one hour because there was no road close to the place where I found this tree.

Very impressive and beautiful tree. I agree with you, I very much like the image of the dead wood the way you have presented it. Just because it is dead does not in nature mean that all of the bark will be sheared off by the elements.

Wonderful result Peter, the ten year ritual must give you a deep sense of satisfaction.Regarding the Jin, Gary, I understand your wanting to remove it but I believe you may be making a judgement based on the two dimensions of that particular photo, given its possition I'm pretty sure it sits very well 'in the round'.

Thanks a lot for your kind comments. If you would like to see how to create a jumbo bonsai in a shorter time than mine, have a look at my article in the new BONSAI FOCUS. Bonsai-Star Gede Merta from Bali did a special demonstration for me …. and for you.